Financial Literacy

The Most Important Financial Lesson

When the Powerball jackpot passed the half-billion mark earlier this year (I spent a whopping $10 on that one, but f*ck it, #yolo), a local D.C. news reporter stopped me on my way home from a straight-razor shave (an unbelievably overrated experience, by the way). He was asking folks what they would do if they won the jackpot. My response was that I would pay off some bills and buy a house. When asked if I would buy my then-fiancee a million-dollar engagement ring, my response was, of course, no. It doesn’t matter how much I love her — that is just goddamned ridiculous.

When I got home and watched the clip, all that was shown was me saying that I would buy a house immediately followed by the buffoonish reporter yelling “BORINGGGG.” Society expects a millionaire to act a certain way and to live a certain lifestyle. Yes, with over half a billion dollars, you could afford to do pretty much anything you damn well pleased, but in reality, the athletes who sign $15 million contracts and the lottery winners who walk away with less than half of their $20 million jackpots are under the gun much more than we think. All that income is taxed at the highest possible rates. Every single family member you never knew you had comes crawling out of the woodwork searching for a handout. To keep the IRS and all those pesky relatives at bay requires accountants, lawyers and financial planners — all of whom require a fat slice of your wallet as well. A blown knee, a couple of boats or a failed business/marriage later, and, bingo, your financial success might as well have been a mirage.

The importance of financial literacy and restraint is just as relevant for us regular guys, and particularly young men right out of college, as it is for freshly minted millionaires. After four years of being continually broke, the transition to a job that nets you $1,500 of take-home pay every two weeks doesn’t leave much time for adjustment.

You want a sweet new TV, some fresh threads and a high enough bar tab to impress the ladies on the weekends. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask, but then you’ve also got your rent that’s way too high, you’ll want to to eat, regularly, and you’ll also need a nice cable package to show off that big TV you just purchased. Don’t forget you’re also going to need a suitable ride to get you to and from that job that affords you those big bar tabs, not to mention some running water to wash off all that glitter and strip-club stink from your hungover self. In short, as secure as you may feel with your income, it’s incredibly easy to become that poor sap juggling utility bills while living paycheck to paycheck.

I have, at multiple points in my life, including now, been poor. Not without support or supplement, but definitively poor through the virtue of having zero steady income. I’ve found that this can be a blessing of sorts: For every time I’ve been able to find work, the previous lean times reminded me that nothing lasts forever. Instead of splurging on a new TV or big nights out at the club, I stuck with the same old set I had in college and opted for happy hour over opulence. When I inevitably find a job and/or land that six-figure book deal that I’m sure some publisher is just itching to offer me, the presence of a paycheck will be a godsend I won't mess up. I know better. I’ll be smart with it. I’ll continue to live within my means, for you never know when the lean times might come roaring back with all their anorexic leanness.